Emergency blood transfusion service and cold storage refrigeration : inter-departmental correspondence
1939-11-03 1939 1930s 2 pages I.C.3. TRADES UNION CONGRESS. INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE. From DR. H.B. MORGAN. Department Social Insurance. To MR. J.L. SMYTH. Date 3rd November, 1939. SUBJECT. EMERGENCY BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE AND COLD STORAGE REFRIGERATION. I have read throu...
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| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| Language: | English English |
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3 November 1939
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/F7BCBD26-1F90-42E1-BF1E-7A767C43A593 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/075E3366-4476-40B8-B397-0DBC69FD55F1 |
| Summary: | 1939-11-03
1939
1930s
2 pages
I.C.3. TRADES UNION CONGRESS. INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE. From DR. H.B. MORGAN. Department Social Insurance. To MR. J.L. SMYTH. Date 3rd November, 1939. SUBJECT. EMERGENCY BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE AND COLD STORAGE REFRIGERATION. I have read through this Memorandum by Frigidaire Limited, and am sorry to say that I think I must agree with all the main points set out. 1. There is no doubt that Blood Transfusion is now regarded as an important part of emergency treatment, but, of course, it can only be administered at certain recognised Centres and in Hospitals. The experience of Spain showed that blood transfusion was very valuable; but to get really good results the transfusion must be performed at recognised Centres and Hospitals where the blood has been properly stored and where the technique is established and well known. 2. Cold storage of the blood to be kept for transfusion is very important, and I am inclined to agree, from my knowledge of the facilities available in the Voluntary Hospitals in the country and at most of the storage centres, that the cold storage of this blood to be subsequently transfused is far from ideal. 3. I am not an authority on refrigeration and refrigerators, but I cannot possibly agree that refrigerators used for ordinary domestic services are suitable for blood storage. I think that refrigerators for blood storage should be kept certainly for that purpose and for that purpose alone. In any case the point is well made in the memorandum, that the ordinary refrigerators, though available now for storage, will have to be made available for their ordinary duties of food and domestic storage once the hospitals start to fill up again with casualties. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that refrigerators for blood storage should be an entirely separate part of the cold storage of a hospital. 4. I also agree that in most of the Hospitals in this country — I think it does not only apply to the Voluntary Hospitals, but I am inclined to think it also applies to the Municipal Hospitals — there is very poor adequate and efficient cold storage and refirgeration [refridgeration] in special refrigerators for the storage of blood to be used in transfusion. I think there are two reasons for this: First there is the question of cost and financial embarrassments, which would apply specially to the Voluntary Hospitals, and, secondly, the fact that blood transfusion is comparatively new and is not adequately recognised in many hospitals as a vital part of emergency treatment. It is, of course, a fact, as some surgeons hold, that blood transfusion and its importance can be overdone and can be over exaggerated. Such experience as is available, however, especially in Spain in the recent Civil War, has established that blood transfusion, properly organised, properly equipped, and properly / administered,
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